Her Pen Pal

I enjoyed this Hallmark film more than I expected to. It may be the place I am in my life, where I am questioning my career choice and the hamster wheel I have been on since I was 16 years old...but this film really struck a chord with me. I agree with the advice to slow down, walk with no destination and enjoy the life that is right before us. Of course it didn't hurt that it was set with a gorgeous backdrop (I am not a Francofile, so take that at face value), and had an interesting back story of the two main characters being former pen pals who shared their most intimate secrets. But the kicker had to be the breathtaking estate!

This was a surprisingly mature film that tackled a very topical concept involving examining what we are working so hard for and what we are missing out on during that road to "success". It's heart however is a romance between two former pen pals who have fallen out of touch. Our main character is a very successful wedding planner who has come to Paris to put on one of her best friend's wedding. Only while there she discovers that the wedding she planned, as magical as it is, lacked all of the personal touches that would have made it the right wedding for her friend...so mid-celebration, with a little help from her former pen pal, she changes the wedding into the perfect wedding for her friend and in the process discovers some things about herself.

I recommend giving this film a watch, hallmark fan or not.

P. S. I have never seen the show Gallavant which stars the two main characters...maybe I will have to check that out as well.

The plot had some "Huh?" moments, but it was noticeably better than most plots in this genre. I really appreciated that there were some genuine obstacles and hard feelings rather than the usual silly misunderstandings. I also appreciated that they invested some money and care into the settings rather than scraping the bottom of the barrel with their budget.

All in all, worth watching.

'Her Pen Pal' is the third of Hallmark's 2021 Summer Nights films, after the average 'You Had Me at Aloha' and the fairly lacklustre 'The Baker's Son'. The main reasons for seeing it was for Hallmark completest sake and also because of Paris, which is a wonderful city in locations and culture and memories of staying there are very fond (the humidity aside). Have not seen enough of the work of either Mallory Jansen and Joshua Sasse, but their performances were agreeable enough to convince me to see more.

As far as the 2021 Hallmark films go, 'Her Pen Pal' is not one of the best (one of the stronger winners being 'A New Year's Resolution'). It is also not one of the worst, like 'Beverly Hills Wedding'. It's one of the middle of the pack ones. It is to me one of the stronger faring Summer Nights entries, while it is miles away from being flawless it has its charm and is agreeable in quite a number of areas. So worth a watch, if not enough for repeat viewings.

There are many good things about 'Her Pen Pal'. A big star here is Paris itself, which is nothing short of stunning and like a character of its own. 'Her Pen Pal' also fares better than 'You Had Me at Aloha' at making the most of the cultural aspects of the locations, something that this did quite well without stereotyping. The music is not too intrusive or over-emphasised, it's not my definition of unforgettable but it is not at odds with anything.

Jansen and Sasse are both charming leads and their chemistry has genuine warmth and is not too rushed or aimless, though it could have been utilised more. The script is light-hearted on the most part and at least flows, complete with some amusing moments. Really liked Jansen's character, who is not too perfect or over the top negative, and appreciated her development and back-story, which is one of the more interesting and believable back-stories of the 2021 Hallmark films. The story has charm and doesn't take itself too seriously or too much of a joke.

Not everything works though. Jayne Weisener badly overacts her role, have never seen ditziness this exaggerated, and it comes over as really obnoxious. Both the performance and the character. Would have liked a lot more development to Sasse's character, the film did so well with Jansen's but Sasse's is incredibly one-dimensional and at best sketchy.

Moreover, there is some awkwardness and excessive cheese and the story has very little new, feels rushed at times and has a forced and too neat conclusion.

Overall, worth a look but not something that had me jumping out of my chair. 6/10.

It follows the Hallmark movie format to the tee. So why give it an 8? Paris, France and the leads are good.

I do have one gripe and that is the movie set up Victoria's backstory beautifully but failed miserably with the male lead. I mean come on, the dude is a square jawed handsome wealthy dude with perfect manners - Hallmark gave us...well he was traveling so he put off relationships for 15 years. I don't think so - come on writers give us something even 1% believable and we are good to go.

I am loving these destination hallmark movies especially this year when we can't travel. The relaxing pace of the movie is reflective of Jacque's philosophy of love feeling like you are wandering through life with no where to go in a hurry. I felt transported to the streets of Paris, enjoying the beautiful scenes, music, and lots and lots of food! I don't know what Jacque does for a living, seems he has soooo much money and no job and all the time in the world to attend these wedding events. Victoria was a great character, professional, mature, and not acting like the ridiculous big bright eyed hallmark leads we are accustomed to. She actually makes good choices. All the characters had some minor conflict but all resolved them as adults which I greatly appreciated. Take an afternoon off and wander through Paris with this movie! Only thing I found annoying is this year's pregnant characters- they are in literally every movie! Why?!!! Is everyone pregnant during covid?